Am I a valued customer? Your actions are revealing

My wife recently discovered the pump of her sunscreen, the second in a two-pack, was broken. To initiate a return with Amazon, she started an online chat. An excerpt:

I’m sorry that you receive [sic] a defective item. I know how disappointed to receive a defective item. No worries, I’ll be here to assist a valued customer like you today and see what I can do to help.

14 minutes and several exchanges later…

It’s my pleasure assisting a valued customer like you today.

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So here’s the question…if you have to tell your customers you value them, do you really value them? When your customers reach out to you, they simply want to hear, “I see you, and I acknowledge you.” Not explicitly, of course, but implicitly through your actions.

You don’t have to repeatedly tell someone they’re valued. They’ll know you do if you see them, hear what they’re saying, and strive to solve their problem. Your choice of words is really important, but if it seems forced as it did with Amazon, it screams inauthenticity. Your actions–how you interact with your customers–will tell your customers if they’re valued. Not by repeating it over and over.